All About Tales

Following our earlier report on Bandai Namco's press conference in which it announced a series of new Tales games for the end of the year and beyond, new details have come our way on all the titles.

The new DS game seems to be getting the most attention right now; expectedly, it's due out first. As mentioned in our earlier report, Tales of Innocence, set for Japanese release at the end of 2007, is being developed at Alfa System, which previously worked on Narikiri Dungeon 2 for Game Boy Advance and Tales of the World Radiant Mythology for the PSP. In fact, work on Innocence started around the same time as that of Radiant Mythology, meaning the DS game has been in production for quite some time.

Bandai Namco seems to be going all out with this one. The game will include an opening movie by Production IG, which will be unveiled at September's Tokyo Game Show. Visually, the game will feature full 3D graphics.

The story for Innocence centers on Luca, a resident of the peaceful capital city of Regnam. Luca, son of a merchant, has special powers, although he's not alone, as others like him have started appearing in the town of late. His personality is said to be a bit different from your standard RPG character; in fact, the game's producers feel his role is somewhat switched with that of the heroine, Iria.

The game's battle system will be a combination of past Tales systems. Innocence will use the Dimension Stride LMBS (Linear Motion Battle System), which is said to combine elements of the Flex Range LMBS from Abyss and the Aeral LMBS from the PS2 version of Destiny.

Moving on to the Wii Tales of Symphonia Knights of Ratatoskr, the Spring 2008 (Japanese release) title is, as mentioned in our initial update, a direct sequel to the GameCube and PS2 Tales of Symphonia, painting a new story three years after the events of that game. While story details are scarce, Bandai Namco did announce that the game's main character would be named Emil, and the heroine Malta. Lloyd and other characters from the original will also appear in the game.

Bandai Namco is working on some updates to the title for the Wii. Visually, the company claims that the graphics have been improved, with higher texture resolution. This is true of new dungeons and towns, and those that you might have visited in the original.

Gameplay is also seeing a few updates. The game will feature Wii-mote direct controls, allowing players to move around by pointing at sections of the map. While not strictly Wii related, the game will also include the ability to capture and breed monsters for use as allies in battle.

Finally, a few details on the PS2 and PSP remakes of older Tales titles. The PSP version of Tales of Rebirth will feature a few updates over the PS2 original, including wide screen support and a gallery mode. Tales of Destiny Directors Cut for the PS2 will include new events and battle difficulty settings, and will be compatible with your old save data. Both titles are due for Japanese release in early 2008.

None of these Tales games have been officially announced for America. However, given the popularity of Symphonia amongst GameCube owners, a US release is likely at least for that title. We'll let you know if we hear anything.